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Mood setter: Freshman Moody right at home as starter for Mavs

Colorado Mesa’s Jordyn Moody hasn’t faltered since being thrust into the starting setter’s role after Krista Ubersox’s injury in the opening weekend.

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Mav Watch

Men’s Soccer

Colorado Mines at CMU: 7 p.m., Friday, Walker Field

Metro State at CMU: Noon, Sunday, Walker Field

Notes: The Mavericks (0-3-1) have allowed seven goals on 39 shots and scored two goals on 39 shots. Mesa is looking for its first win against Mines and Metro. Mines (2-1), ranked 13th in the nation, has scored six goals on 32 shots this season. Metro (2-1-1), ranked fourth in the Central Region, is 12th in the nation with 3.5 goals per game. The Roadrunners scored a season-high eight against Upper Iowa earlier this season.

Women’s Soccer

Neb.-Kearney at CMU: 4 p.m., Friday, Walker Field

Regis at CMU: 3 p.m., Sunday, Walker Field

Notes: Mesa (1-3) has been a good ball-control offense, with 12 more shots than its opponents, but has been outscored 6-3. The Mavericks have 31 shots on goal to their opponents’ 28. Kearney (2-2) set a school record with 16 shots on goal in its 2-0 victory over Minnesota-Crookston last weekend. Regis’ Jordan Miller scored five goals on eight shots on goal in the Rangers’ three games last week. Regis (3-1) has scored 13 goals in four games.

Notes: The CMU men’s team will see some RMAC competition in its second meet in the program’s history. The CMU women will see how they measure up against some of the nation’s best in the prestigious University of California-Riverside Invitational.

Women’s Tennis

CMU at Neb.-Kearney: Noon, Thursday, Kearney, Neb.

ITA Central Regional: Friday-Sunday, Kearney, Neb.

Notes: Eight CMU players will play in an individual singles and doubles tournament this weekend with a chance to qualify for nationals later this fall. Mesa coach Dan MacDonald said freshman Kaylee Davis could surprise some people in singles and Kelleen and Kaitlan Sera could challenge for a double title against the other RMAC and Northern Sun Conference teams. The Mavericks will tune up for the tournament with a nonconference dual against Kearney.

By {screen_name}
Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Jordyn Moody has been thrust into an important role earlier than planned, but she’s handling it without a hitch.

The freshman from Chandler, Ariz., envisioned herself running the offense for the Colorado Mesa University volleyball team this season, but maybe not this soon.

With the season-ending injury to Krista Ubersox, it’s been Moody’s team to run from the start. Ubersox tore the Achilles’ tendon in her left foot during the opening weekend of the season in Golden.

“I feel horrible what happened to Uber,” Moody said. “I could tell it was not just a muscle cramp.

“I felt horrible, but at the same time I knew I had to step in.”

Moody will start the for the Mavericks, who begin RMAC play this weekend with a tough slate of games. Mesa (3-5) hosts seventh-ranked Metro State (7-1) at 7 p.m. today, 25th-ranked Regis (7-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday and Colorado Christian (3-6) at 7 p.m. on Saturday. All matches are at Brownson Arena.

“I’d love to be on an eight-game winning streak, but that’s not the way it is,” Mesa coach Dave Fleming said. “We have to take it one contact at a time. Metro is a great team, but they are a team we can beat. They’re in our house and if we play well, we can at least push them. That’s what I want to see out of our kids, is that they fight and push.

“The big thing we’re talking about now is we’ve got to be disciplined on all the little things. Part of that is defense for sure and making sure we’re balanced on their attacks and not over-reading.”

Moody has proven she’s ready for the challenge of college volleyball.

She has 231 assists (8.56 per game) and has a set percentage of .382.

“I think she’s doing a good job,” Fleming said. “If you look at our team, we’re not losing based on our setting. She’s doing her job. She’s in a tough spot because she had to step in the quarterback position as a true freshman.”

Moody was confident she could do the job, but wasn’t expecting it to fall in her lap this early.

“Eventually, I thought I’d earn the starting spot, but definitely not the first weekend,” Moody said. “I think we’re a solid team at every position. We don’t have a lot of depth, but we have great players. I feel comfortable setting everyone. We’re starting to find our sync.”

The transition has been easier since Moody felt like she fit right in at Mesa on her official visit

“It made looking at other schools difficult,” Moody said. “I knew this was it. I liked the coaches, team and where the program was going.

“This feels like my high school team. Pretty much all volleyball players have the same personality. We’re all weird, strange, wacky and funny. Right off the bat, I knew we had the same personality. That made it a lot easier. The coaches are great, too.”

Fleming agreed with Moody’s comfort level.

“I think that’s a big part of it,” he said. “I think she was comfortable with Maggie (Chlebana, his assistant) and myself during the recruiting process. She mentioned coming to camps over the summer was a big help for her because she was kind of scared until she did that camp.

“The toughest adjustment for her was being away from Mom and Dad in Arizona.”

Moody is dealing with some knee tendonitis, limiting her practice time.

“I should’ve taken care of it more in high school and I haven’t had problems all summer,” Moody said. “I thought I was going to do great, but I have rehabbed, so I’m starting to feel better.”